Juneau Last Day

June 26th 2008
We are in Juneau still and I have arranged passage on the ferry tomorrow for the trip to Haines AK.
This afternoon we took a hike around part of the Mendenhall Lake and the forest. It was great and the weather was good (not sunny but not raining either). Right now we have rain.
I took a great picture of our dinner to be (barbeque chicken, salad, etc) and then I unscrewed the gas canister from the barbeque too soon and we had quite a firebomb going. Well I grabbed the fire extinguisher and put that baby out fast, but the extinguisher also got our meal. So it was hot dogs and beans everyone. Next time don’t be so speedy and just let the gas canister sit.
Juneau has been a relaxing place for us and I will be sorry to leave it.
You should know that Juneau was the place of the first Alaska Gold rush when Juenau and Harris let by an Indian were shown on what is now Gold Creek where the yellow metal that the Indians used to make bullets for their rifles could be found. This lead to two of the largest gold mines in Alaska and I am sure responsible for Juneau being the capital of AK.
There have been several referendums to change the capital site for AK in the years before and since statehood but Juneau has prevailed even though it has no road to it. It is the only state capital with a glacier within the city limits (Mendenhall).
You would think that Juneau is also the cruise ship capital of AK also I think I counted 6 in the harbor the other day. All those tourists and all those jewelry shops. The owners must either close in winter or drastically cut back on operations.
On the way around the lake we witnessed a wedding. Hope all is well with the bride and groom.
We have moved to a site with electrical and water hookups for Bev to do her cooking and baking. She is glad for the little things in her life now. So far the walking does not seem to have been a serious problem with her feet.
The day light hours just seem to be getting longer and longer. I think that the sun is not going down now until about 11:00 pm. Sleeping is becoming more difficult as we try to adjust our awake sleep rhythms to this new schedule. It just never gets dark here so you do not eat or sleep when you usually do.
The flowers are spectacular again on this trip and Bev has kept her catalogue of the pictures she has taken of them. Possibly if I can sneak in a few pictures I will post them in the future.
Time for a video.
Lorne
Some of the pictures here are:
1 Meal before the blowup
2 Campsite view
3 Mendenhall waterfall
4 Bev on the trail
5 Flowers